“So, did you have a nice day?” Byeol's mother asked Hongbin and Byeol.

They were in the car on their way home, her mother driving, Hongbin by her side while Byeol was alone, sitting at the back of the car.

“Tiring, as usual,” Hongbin answered.

“And you, Byeol?” her mother asked, looking at her through the rear mirror.

“It was alright,” she smiled to reassure her.

She couldn't tell her a guy whom she had spent her childhood with had forgotten about her, and that the librarian she was seeing at least three days a week still didn't know her name, or even that people were bumping into her saying they hadn't saw her. She simply couldn't because she knew it would made her mother even more upset that she actually was. Byeol's hatred toward people wasn't a secret anymore in their family, but it was making her mother awkwardly upset and embarrassed. Byeol sometimes found her thinking her mother was simply ashamed of her, which she rationally knew wasn't the truth: Byeol was her daughter and she loved her more than everything, but from the girl point of view, it was very weird.

“Mom, can two of my friends come home on Saturday? We'll be going out in the downtown in the afternoon but I thought they could come and eat with us at lunch,” Hongbin explained.

“You don't have to ask, you know your friends are welcomed. Who are they? The Jung's son and...?”

“Kim Wonshik.”

“Oh yes, I see, you've already told me about him,” Byeol's mother smiled, “and you Byeol, don't you also want to invite some friends?”

“No.”

From the corner of her eyes, she saw her mother looking at Hongbin with eyes full of sadness and the boy only shrugged, because just like her, he didn't know what to say or do. Byeol didn't talk anymore until they reached their house. It was quite big and their parents were proud of it (after all, since they were both doctors, they had quite a lot of money yet they were modest and didn't like to show off). It had a huge garden and a swimming pool outside, and inside, there was a big living and dinning room, an American kitchen and there were five bedrooms and two bathrooms. It was the perfect place for this blended family.

“Dad is not home yet?” Hongbin asked after they entered.

“No, but he should be there for dinner.”

“Cool,” the boy smiled and disappeared upstairs to go to his bedroom.

Byeol followed him but obviously stopped into her bedroom which was just next to his. It was a simple bedroom, with a simple bed, a chest of drawers full over clothes, a desk which had disappeared under all of her school stuff and a shelf covered with hundred of books. It was mostly black and white with touches of red, her favorite color. She put her school books the others which were already on her desk, she threw her bag in a corner of the room and lay on her bed, hugging her pillow to have some comfort. Byeol knew she wasn't going to do her homework tonight, and she knew she wasn't going to do anything. She was just going to lie on her bed, go eat and took a shower before she fell asleep. Today was one of the days she didn't want to do something useful.

*

“Children! Time to eat!” her mother called them from downstairs.

Byeol met Hongbin in the corridor since they went out of their bedrooms at the same time and they went downstairs, in the dinning room where everything was already ready. Hongbin's father had arrived and was sitting at his usual spot, next to Byeol's mother and the two teens were sitting in front of them. Byeol listened to their parents telling them about a man who cut his hand with an axe or about this woman who gave birth to a boy while the doctor had told her it was a girl and while Hongbin was asking question, apparently really concerned and amused by all these stories, Byeol remained silent and just smiled since it was the only thing she could do correctly. She was a professional at smiling falsely.

She didn't really eat either. She just played with the food she had in front of her and put her chopstick into with no food between it, and when they were finally done, she quickly cleared the table and went back upstairs. She took a shower, put on her pajamas and hid under the covers of her bed, calling the only person she knew would make her having a good night.

“Hello?”

“Oppa, it's me, Byeol,” she answered and smiled just by hearing her older brother's high-pitched voice.

Ryeowook was eleven years older than his little sister, and yet, they were really closed to each other: the had never been an issue in their relation. The young man was currently living in Japan because of his job and he wasn't coming in Korea a lot but he was often calling Byeol, or she was either calling him. Ryeowook was her confident, the one she was calling when she was feeling a bit down.

“How are you?” he asked.

“I'm fine, and you?”

“I'm a bit tired, I've been working a lot lately and my boss doesn't seem ready to leave me a day off.”

“You're still at the office right now?”

“Hum.”

“Am I bothering you? I can hung up otherwise,” she sighed, really concerned about her brother doing a mistake by answering her call.

“No don't worry. I was thinking about calling you anyway,” Ryeowook chuckled and Byeol could literally hear him smiling through the phone. Her bother had always had a beautiful and white smile Byeol was jealous of, “so, what have you been doing lately?”

“Hum,” she lay even more in her bed and hid under the cover until only her nose and eyes were visible, “nothing much. I'm going to school and I read a lot, as usual.”

“Have you read something interesting?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, alright... and at school, is everything alright?”

“I think, yes. I failed my last test in sciences last week, I was quite disappointed,” she pouted, remembering the disappointment she had felt when the teacher gave her her paper with a big 5/100 written in red.

“It's only sciences,” Ryeowook laughed, “don't worry about it. How is mom doing?”

“Why don't you directly call her? She would appreciate it...”

“You're my priority,” He said and made her heart melt. While Byeol wasn't mad at her mother for divorcing her father because she was two at that time so she didn't even remember them being together, her big brother was still mad at his mother even after all this time and he was rarely calling her. “So, tell me.”

“She's fine, I guess. I actually don't see her a lot because of school and her work.”

“And dad? Do you know how is he doing? I tried to call him several times but he never answers.” Their father had been living in the USA for the past fifteen years and was coming to Korea only every three years for a single week only. He was a busy man who didn't even have time to see his children. Yet, he was often sending them letters and gifts.

“No, he didn't answer either when I called him,” Byeol sighed.

“Well... he might just be very busy.”

“Yeah.”

Someone spoke in Japanese behind Ryeowook and he replied something Byeol didn't understand.

“I have to go, my boss is calling for me,” he sighed, “I swear he is driving me nuts. Call me anytime you want, alright?”

“I will.”

“I love you, Byeol. Bye!”

“Love you too, oppa. Good night.”

He was the first one to hang up. Byeol sighed loudly and looked at her phone's background picture, which was a photo of her father, her brother and herself they had taken five years ago, the last time they were all reunited.

“I wish you were there,” she mumbled, talking about and father and brother, “I wish we were together.”

Someone knocked on the door and Hongbin's face appeared when he opened it.

“Who are you talking to?” he frowned.

“I just called Ryeowook oppa.”

“Oh, how is he doing?”

“He's fine.

“Cool. I'm going to bed, good night.”

“Yeah, you too.”

He smiled and left, disappearing into his own bedroom. Byeol closed her eyes after she put her phone on the nightstand, and she fell asleep with a sad smile over her face, already thinking about the upcoming day.

*

“Nobody wants to join,” Hakyeon sighed, looking at the announce on the noticeboard.

“We just put it yesterday, let's wait for a week at least,” Jaehwan answered, staying as optimistic as always.

“I told you it is better if it is just the three of us...” Hyuk mumbled

“Didn't you hear anyone talking about it? Aren't the girls of your class interested?” the older asked.

“I heard one asking who was Hakyeon, yes.”

“Who is this girl?! How does it come she doesn't know the great Cha Hakyeon?!”

“It's her first year, we can blame her for not knowing,” the so-called great Cha Hakyeon shook his head, praying internally for Jaehwan to just shut up.

“But you're a star here, everyone knows-” he stopped, looked at someone who was entering the school by the main door at this moment and he suddenly waved, “Yun! Ahn Yun! Come here!” he shouted, most of the students around them turning their heads in his direction.

The girl smiled and came toward them, bowing her head at her classmate, the young Han Sanghyuk and grinned at Hakyeon. She was excited just by having him so close to her.

“Is there something you want to ask me?” she asked.

“My friend here is kind of desperate because nobody wants to join his group,” he put his arm around his friends' shoulder and Hakyeon didn't even move, he simply looked at Yun with curiosity, “you told me your friend was a good singer, don't you?”

“Byeol. Yes, she is,” she smiled.

“Listen, just tell her to write her name here,” he pointed at the sheet of paper, “or to come to see Hakyeon. So that we can see by ourselves if she is good enough to join us.”

“Dude,” Yun frowned and looked at him with a disdainful look, “you're not good enough to join her, not the contrary,” she snorted, which somehow made Hyuk chuckled.

“Just tell her to come to us already,” he rolled his eyes.

“Even if I told her, she won't,” the bell rang, “we should go, Lee Jaehwan, we're going to be late otherwise.”

“Wait, Yun,” Hakyeon stopped her, “I'll go and see her if she doesn't want to come by herself. Just tell me where or when I can see her.”

The girl frowned, not sure about what to do: her best friend was going to be mad at her if she was speaking, but she didn't want to let Hakyeon with no answer. It was Cha Hakyeon after all, and he even called her by her name.

“She is going to kill me...” she mumbled and closed her eyes, joining her hands together under her shin, “forgive me Kim Byeol. This is for your own sake. You can see her at the music room every Thursdays night, after our classes are over. She's got night lessons and she stays here to waste her time,” she admitted.

Hakyeon just nodded. Yun smiled at him and seized Jaehwan's arms to drag him to their classroom.

“Kim Byeol...” Hakyeon mumbled, thinking about what Yun had just told him.

“Do you know her?” Hyuk asked.

“N-no,” he quickly shook his head and left, promising Hyuk to be at the music room during break lunch.

Second chapter :) I hope you liked it :)

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Bye!

Mae.